Explosive-gas engine.



No. 6834525" Patented Sept. 24, l90l.

- v V. ST. JOHN EXPLOSIVE GAS ENGINE. (Appfication filed May 8, 1899.)(No Modal.) I 2 Sheets-Sheet 7n: Noam: PETER 0a.. PHOTO-LITHOWLSHINOTbN, o. a,

Patented Sept. 24, 190i. V. vST. JOHN.

EXPLOSIVE GAS ENGINE.

(Application filed May 8, 1899.)

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(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICELF VICTOR ST. JOHN, OF FAIRMONT, MINNESOTA.

EXPLOSlVE-GAS ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 683,152, datedSeptember 24, 1901.

Application filed May 8, 1899. Serial No. 716,073. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it Hwy concern:

Be it known that l, VICTOR ST. JOHN, of Fairmont, Martin county, Minnesota,have invented certain Improvements in Explosive- Gas Engines, ofwhich the followingis a specification. I

My invention relates to improvements in the construction ofexplosive-gas engines; and it consists in the features of constructionand combination hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure1 is a vertical section of a gas-engine embodying my improvements. Fig.2 is a view of part of the operating mechanism. Fig. 3 is across-section on lineman of Fig 1. Fig. 4 is a section on line 1 y ofFig. 1 with the fly-wheel removed.

In the drawings, A represents the cylinder of the gas-engine, and 2 thecrank-shaft, upon which is mounted the fly-wheel 3. The crank portion 4of the shaft, as shown in Fig. 1, is entirely inclosed within the baseof the engine. The base of the engine is provided with an air-inletvalve 5, held to its seat by suitable springs 6. Arranged in thecylinder 7 of the engine above the crank is the piston 13. For thepurposes of my invention 1 form the piston with a vertical passage 8,the upper end 9 of whichis enlarged and communicates with the spaceabove by an opening 10, normally closed bya gravity-valve 11. Saidpassage 8 is connected by means of a pipe 12 with the gasolene-reservoir13, arranged on the outside of the engine. The gas-inlet pipe 12 isclosed by a gravity-valve 14, supported on the rods 15 and which areactuated to open the valve in the manner hereinafter described.

Arranged in the top of the engine is the exhaust-valve 16, supported bythe lever 17, having fulcrum support 18 upon the top of the engine, aspring 19 being provided which tends to hold the valve closed. Thelever17 is actuated to close and open the valve by thefollowing-described parts: Mounted upon the crank-shaft 2 is the gear20, which inn; meshes with a gear 21, journaled above the i Upon the hasjournal support 26 and the other end spring connection 27 with theframework of the engine, the point of connection not being shown. Itwill be evident that as the gear 21 is rotated in the operation of theengine and the projecting portion 28 of the cam is brought into contactwith the roller 23 the rod 24 will be raised, opening the exhaustvalve,and as the projecting portion of the cam is carried past the roller therod 21 will be allowed to drop, permitting the spring 19 to carry theexhaust-valve to closed position.

The'speed of the engine is governed in the following'manner: A weight 29is arranged in an opening 30 in the gear 21 and is supported upon alever 31, the other end of which lever bears upon the face of the gear.Said lever is loosely mounted upon the rod 32, which passes through thehollow gear-supporting shaft and is held inward by means of a coilspring 33. Extending transversely through thehollowshaftisaspring34,secured at its lower end to the frame of theengine and having its upper end 35 beveled to engage with the groovedcontact 36, which is carried by the lower end of the rod 24, thusforming a knife-contact. The spring 34 is connected with the rod 32, soas to be actuated in the movement thereof. The spring 31 is normallyheld away from the contact 36 by means of the spring 33. As in theoperation of the engine the speed of the gear 21 increases, thegovernor-weight 29 is thrown outward by centrifugalaction, carrying withit the rod 32 and carrying the knife-contact 35 into engagement with thecontact 36. In Fig. 1 the parts are shown in this position. If thespring-contact 35 is carried under the projecting edge of the contact 36when the exhaust-valve is opened by means of the cam 22 raising the rod24, the exhaust-valve will be then held open until the projectingportion of the cam again comes in contact with the roller, for thereason that the roller-drops after passing the projecting portion of thecam and allows the contacts 35 and to interlock. As each revolution ofthe cam raises the roller 23 sufliciently to disengage theknife-contacts, the

spring-contact 34 will be drawn back to disengaged position as soon asthe speed falls enough. This, as will be seen, is the ordinaryhit-or-miss principle of governing gasengines; The valve 14, closing thegasolenepipe, is actuated to allow an inflow of gas by means of thecollar 37, mounted upon the rod 24. A suitable spring (not shown) may beused to normally hold said valve in closed position. Upon the outside ofthe engine-cyl inder are formed series of projections 38, the purpose ofwhich is to so increase the radiating surface as to render unnecessarythe use of an ordinary water-jacket. That may be done in otherequivalent ways, such as projecting corrugations, strips, 850. A plate39 is fitted loosely under the valve 14, forming a section to retard theinrushing air and more thoroughly vaporize the gasolene.

The cycle of the engine is as follows: On the upstroke of the piston airis drawn in at the valve 5. On the next downstroke the air that has beendrawn in will be forced through the passage 8 and through thevalve-opening 10 into the cylinder beyond the piston. As the air rushespast the the end of the gasolenepipe it will draw the gasolene with itthrough the valve. On the next upstroke of the piston the charge iscompressed and exploded in the usual manner. The next downstroke of thepiston will therefore be the working stroke. As the piston reaches thelower end of the working stroke the air below the piston, which iscompressed, raises the valve 11 in the piston and passes into thecylinder, cleaning out theburned gases and cooling the cylinder.

It will be noticed that the cam is so shaped that the roller 23 will begiven a downward movement immediately after the upward movement whichopens the exhaust,this downward movement opening the gasoleue-inletvalve by. reason of the engagement of the collar 37 with the lever-rod15.

I claim'- 1. A gas-engine of the class described, comprising thecylinder, the piston working in said cylinder, its actuating-crank, thepassage in said piston, the pipe connecting said passage with the sourceof gas-supply, and the valve arranged in said. piston between saidpassage and the interior of the cylinder, whereby upon the workingstroke of said piston the rushing of the air through said pas sage andvalve will carry the gas into -the cylinder.

2. A gas-engine of the class described, comprising the cylinder, thepiston working therein, its actuating-crank, the passage through saidpiston, the valve normally closing said passage, the gas-inlet pipeleading from said passage to a source of supply, the valve closing saidpipe, the exhaust-valve for the cylinder, the gear driven from the maincrankshaft, and the cam carried by said gear and operatively connectedwith the exhaust-valve and inlet-pipe valve, and so constructed as toopen the exhaust-valve, and to open the valve closing the inlet-pipewhen the exhaustvalve is carried to closed position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

VICTOR ST. JOHN.

Witnesses:

O. N. PETERSEN, MAUD FELHAN.

